The present invention relates to an air cleaner for filtering air drawn into an engine.
Air cleaners are required to have excellent dust trapping performance. Air cleaners are also required to have reduced airflow resistance because it is necessary to reduce resistance that occurs with intake (intake resistance) to improve engine output.
In the air cleaner disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 59-107967, pleat sections configuring pleats of a filter element extend along the flow of air flowing into a housing through an inlet. In other words, the inlet is formed in the housing at a position where the inlet allows air to flow in the direction of the ridges of the pleats.
Thus, in the above-mentioned air cleaner, the air that flowed into the housing through the inlet does not strike the pleat sections perpendicularly, but flows along the pleat sections. The air passes through the pleat sections without significantly changing the flow direction. As a result, the airflow resistance of the air cleaner is reduced, and the intake resistance of the engine is reduced, thus improving the engine output.